The delegates at the UN General Assembly have diverse priorities. Some are here to sign peace deals, some to agree anti-terrorism policies. Others have no specific goal. But not Dr Maha Barakat, the head of Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (Haad).
Haad is involved in all matters related to health care in the capital. However, Dr Barakat wears another hat, representing the UAE’s support of global health policies. In New York, Dr Barakat was in New York lobbying for Reach the Last Mile, an initiative to end preventable infectious diseases such as malaria, guinea worm and polio and the UAE is urging countries and organisations to put political weight behind eradicating these diseases.
The UAE has a long history of humanitarianism and charity. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has ranked the UAE top foreign donor for ODA — official development assistance — for several years. The UAE is also among a handful of countries that consistently meets the United Nations target of spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income on overseas aid.
"You have objective data showing the efforts the UAE has taken and this has spanned decades." said Dr Barakat. As far back as 1990 the UAE's founding father Sheikh Zayed was giving grants to the Carter Centre, including $5.7 million to help eliminate guinea worm. In 1986, there were 3.5 million cases of guinea worm in 21 countries. Today, there are only 10 cases in one country, Chad - a 99.99 per cent reduction, says Dr Barakat proudly.
But there is more to be done. The UAE has given more than over $20 million to eliminate guinea worm, but Dr Barakat says the priorities now are malaria and polio, which "kill or cause disability when they don’t kill." The UAE has given more than $30 million to prevent malaria and more than $164 million to tackle polio.
Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed has not only continued with this tradition of giving targeted strategically — $167 million towards eliminating polio, for example — but his personal engagement acts as a catalyst for other benefactors.
At the first global vaccine summit in 2013, $4 billion was pledged, which Dr Barakat says was largely due to "the motivational leadership of Sheikh Mohamed and Bill Gates" — leading by example and encouraging others to contribute. The Countdown to Zero in Atlanta last June raised $1.2 billion.
Dr Barakat highlighted three strategic priorities, the first of which is to "ensure that the diseases are high up on the political agenda".
And so Dr Barakat and other global health advocates choose UN week to lobby for maintaining political engagement.
"There is disease and there is preventable disease. Two million children die of preventable disease a year. no one should die of preventable disease," Dr Barakat said.
The second strategic priority is "maintain your gains. It isn’t enough to focus on the three countries that still have polio, we have to make sure the rest of the world doesn’t get it".
As for the third priority, it is the all important funding. "For malaria, we may need $6 billion by 2020 to push the last stage of elimination," said Dr Barakat.
Abu Dhabi is the venue for the next global health forum on November 15, hosted by Sheikh Mohammed, with Bill Gates and former US president Jimmy Carter and several world leaders due to attend. This is in line also with the Roll Back Malaria partnership, the global framework for co-ordinated action to eliminate malaria, which remains prevalent in 91 countries.
One focal point for the forum will be polio. "There were 37 cases of polio in 2016, in only three countries, and yet if we suddenly stopped our efforts to eliminate polio, instead of 37 cases, there will be 200,000 all over the world every year. So we cannot just stop, it really is the last mile and we have to finish it together," Dr Barakat said. To get from 37 to zero will take more effort and more funding. The forum hopes to achieve both -- not least because it is line with Sustainable Development Goal No 3: good health and wellbeing for all.
Titled Reaching the Last Mile, the forum "will showcase all sorts of examples of how humanitarian efforts have helped reduce the burden of these infectious diseases and a call to action for funding so we reach the last mile," said Dr Barakat. "We hope to walk the last mile hand in hand with the international community."
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
The five pillars of Islam
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
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